I arrived at the lifestone still screaming from the remnant pain in my chest where an Olthoi Claw had plunged. Falling to the ground I clutched at fresh blades of grass while my heart settled its racing. Eventually, I rolled onto my back, breathing heavily while I watched the clouds roll by. The weakness of death was beginning to have its effect on me. All my body wished to do was find its way to one of Arwic’s Inns and sleep, but my mind knew I must recover my possessions from the Olthoi’s lair. I had fought too hard to obtain them, and though death hurts, I was far from giving up on my prize armor or the hammer my lord had given me.

I pushed myself up from the ground and began stumbling towards Arwic. Thankfully, I had enough money to purchase clothes. Yet, I had barely enough left to buy a hammer. The thought that I would be entering the aptly named Lair of Death without armor or a shield only added to my despair. The shouts of beggars echoed off the dirty walls of Arwic, largely ignored. These people somehow made their living asking for handouts in town. I could not debase myself like this, yet I had to face the fact that I could not possibly recover my belongings without help.

I swallowed my pride and shouted aloud “I have lost three corpses and all my armor. Can someone please help me?” As the words left my mouth I saw many people nearby glance my way in disgust. I blushed and looked away, thinking of the times that I had ignored such pleas myself. It was apparent that no one in this decadent city would assist me and I starting walking to the Tou-Tou portal. My thoughts being that perhaps someone a little more amenable could be located in the sea-side Sho city rather then this slum of a place.

A voice cut through the crowd, somehow clear to me through all the background whines of beggars and the cries of hucksters. “Where have you left your bodies?” a calm baritone asked me. “They are in the Lair of Death sir, scattered about.” I answered. “Ah, I see… I assume you know of the mountain pass portal. Meet me near there so we can escape this noisy place. I will do what I can to help.” He replied. I sensed from his accent that the man was Gharun’dim, but I could not pick him out in the struggling crowds of Arwic and immediately set out for the small house near the mountain portal.

The despair began to ebb from my soul while I ran to the house. Any man who was willing to brave Olthoi on my behalf must be a warrior of great prowess indeed and the Gharun’dim are known for their skills with the staff. Many times I had seen a woman flash by me in that place dispatching Olthoi with a practiced ease. Perhaps this man was her student or, I hoped, her teacher. The mountain pass portal materialized into my view and I began to slow pace.

I quickly searched the area and saw a resting mage in a purple robe of Gharun’dim stylings. I settled against the house and inhaled deeply to recover from my run. I laughed inwardly knowing that the warrior was probably walking and saw no need to rush. I sat down with a smirk and waved to the silent mage offering a standard greeting. It appeared I disturbed his meditations as he brought his head up swiftly, as if breaking from a daydream.

“Ah, you have arrived.” The mage said. He spoke in the same voice as the man who offered help and my thoughts turned sour. “I thought you were a warrior.” I said with a hint of bitterness. You see, mages were largely unwelcome in the Lair of Death. They were cut down quickly if attacked and relied on we who were strong to take a beating while they sucked the life from our enemies. Most had no compunctions about sharing in the bounty despite their lack of risk during the battle and we warriors had little love for them.

“I am sorry to disappoint you.” The mage said in what I detected as ironic amusement. “If you do not wish my help, you may return to Arwic and seek a warrior. I will go on my way.” I quickly responded “No, that is all right. I am sorry, I do need some help and should not be ungrateful.” “Good.” said the mage. “We should have little trouble if we work together. What weapon do you use warrior?”

“I use a hammer against Olthoi sir, they seem to fall faster when it cracks their shells.” “Indeed they do at that.” he replied and began digging through one of his packs. “Ah, here we are.” He said as he handed me a hammer. “Now, I must prepare for fighting the Olthoi here, where it is safe.”

The man then began to cast spells. The smell of burning components began to fill the air and the motions were complex and difficult to follow. They took far longer to cast than any spells I had seen before and I sensed they were of great power. I began to wonder if perhaps I would recover my bodies with the help of this purple robed mage. Mesmerized by the words and visible effects of the spells being cast, and somewhat dizzied by the smell of burning components, I moved to sit down again. The man grunted “Stand still.” between castings.

He then focused his magics on me and lights began to erupt around me. Never experiencing spells of such power before, I felt no small fear at the possibility the mage might misfire. I silently thanked Asheron for his protection and quelled this fear with the knowledge that this man could do me no harm, by accident or by design. “Hold out the hammer.” He softly commanded.

I did so and his eyes fixed on it as his hands and words again invoked the magic, this time casting on the hammer itself. Sparks of different color leapt from the haft and head of the hammer and I felt it begin to vibrate under the eldritch energies it now held. It seemed weightless and yet, I knew that should I bring this down on a rock, only rubble would remain. With this hammer I knew I could take Olthoi and I began to move toward the portal.

“We are not yet ready.” said the mage. “I will lead the way, but first we must arrange for your armor.” He then pulled a neatly folded bright orange robe from his pack and a turban. Once again the magic flowed in the open spaces near the mountain portal and the cloth of the robe and turban seemed to absorb the glow of magic, looking to all the world like normal cloth. “Wear those, and keep yours hands safe from attack.” I quickly donned the robe and turban hoping that they would afford some of the protection my armor offered me. “I see this is the first time you have worn a turban.”

The mage quickly adjusted the turban to cover my ears and tightened the fit of it. “Now we are ready, listen closely as we run to the Lair of Death.” With that he turned and ran through the portal. I followed closely, while taking a few test swings with the now enchanted hammer. It was a mighty weapon indeed and my hopes were once again lifted with the prospect of using it in battle. I realized the mage was speaking to me as we ran and sped up to be sure I heard his words.

“… spells that are cast on you have a limited duration. They will last long enough to recover your bodies and escape the lair, but if we get separated, work your way out and we will regroup for another attempt. Do not proceed on your own, I know when those spells will wear and if you are engaged in combat when they do, we will have another body to recover.” He spoke in rote as if he had said this many times before. “You will see a darkened shroud descend over an Olthoi, this will be your signal to attack. Do not attack until you see this shroud. Olthoi are very single-minded and if I call their attention first they will remain focused on me. Do not worry about my safety as I can heal myself and recover my own corpse if things go badly.”

“If you need healing, please shout out your need to me. I will be casting many spells and it requires great concentration. I will lead the way through the dungeon and you must make it a point to always stay directly behind me. Under no circumstances are you to part my side or run ahead of me. Is all of this clear?” he asked. “Yes.” I said, knowing that it was likely this mage was overconfident and he would shortly be following my lead with this mighty hammer. I had never seen a mage stand before the Olthoi hordes and I expected this one had little idea what he spoke of when it came to bugs.

He nodded in response to my affirmation and said “I despise the smell of these places, so lets make this quick, eh?” I laughed out loud at his assumption of a quick battle, clearly this man had not been to the Lair of Death, “Sure, lets do that.” I said trying to hid my mirth. He whirled on me and locked a penetrating glance to my eyes. “This is no game warrior, remember what I said and we will be fine.” he stated with an edge to his voice, then turned to continue his run. I swallowed as we neared the portal to the lair and tried to vanquish the memories of the deaths I had experienced here.

There were warriors resting outside the portal and as the mage ran toward it, I recognized the glares and glances directed toward the man in the robe. To another warrior, this was a clear sign that there was no love between the men of action and the men of magic. Without further comment we both entered the lair and immediately the sour acidic smell assaulted my senses. “I should create a spell for that stench, many of my brethren would thank me I am sure... follow.”

I did not know how the mage intended to lead me to my bodies when he had no idea where they were in the lair, but I felt it wiser to wait for him to ask when he realized the error of wandering blindly through the lair. He turned down one of the tunnels and I heard the familiar chittering of the bugs and felt the fear in my heart, “Remember, attack those who have been affected with the dark shroud.” said the mage without a glance in my direction. I hefted my hammer and readied myself for battle.

The mage turned a winding corner and the Olthoi took notice of him, I pulled in behind him as he instructed and regretted the fact that I had no healing balms to assist the mage. The Olthoi we humans referred to as workers rushed the mage and his spell chant began, the shroud appeared around an Olthoi as it reached him and I swung my hammer at its side. It flew at the Olthoi and it seemed to guide my hand, willing my arm to strike beneath a joint in the creature’s thorax and I felt the hammer blast through its shell. My own hammer had magical properties, but nothing had prepared me for the power this hammer had received from the mage. Instead of bouncing off his shell and doing some internal damage, I had blown a gapping hole in the side of the Olthoi.

The force of this blow lifted the Olthoi off the ground and slammed it into one of the tunnel walls. I quickly brought the hammer onto its head, as I knew these creatures could be dangerous even when near death. The hammer drove completely through the creature’s head and rang on the ground with a satisfying tone. I stood over the body of the Olthoi. I had killed it in two blows. The first was a mortal wound and if left on its own there was little doubt it would have perished. I stared in wonder at the hammer. It was then that I noticed three other Olthoi Workers surrounded the mage.

My amazement at the power of my weapon was about to cost the mage his life. In my battle rage, I had not noticed if the mage had cast his shroud on any of the Olthoi attacking him. Ashamed at my lack of observation I rushed the Olthoi nearest me and swung low at one of its legs. It tore completely off and one more blow from my hammer shattered its body into a useless pulp. Its fetid remains splashed onto my robe, but drained off much like water off of a ducks back. I had little time to wonder at this, as I turned to the next Olthoi.

I swung at the thing, but now they knew of my existence and turned their attentions to me. The mage began to cast again and another black shroud appeared over an Olthoi near me. I leapt high and swung down at its head, and lost balance as my hammer smashed completely through the Olthoi. Utterly destroying him with a single blow. Being no rookie, I rolled and turned to face the other, its claws scraping the ground where I had landed. The mage drained something from the Olthoi, but the spell was different from the drain life spells I had seen used by other magi. It appeared to have little effect on the Olthoi and I engaged it despite my confusion over the spell’s purpose. Two blows later it also lay dead at my feet, and the muck of bug goo was deep and slippery on the floor.

“I hate these creatures… let us move.” he said. It was then that I realized the mage did not intend to help me to my bodies and withdraw. He intended to use me as a weapon to kill every Olthoi we could in the lair, and pick up my belongings on the way. The quick death of these Olthoi elated me, and the weakness from the trips to the lifestone was becoming a forgotten thing of the past.

We continued down the corridor, the mage casting his spells, while I waited patiently for the shrouds to appear. At times the mage would cast two spells on one Olthoi, they both looked the same to me, but whatever poor bug received this treatment literally flew to pieces in one blow from my hammer of death. Were it not for my enspelled robe, I would have been unrecognizable from the covering of the green gore that splashed onto the walls, ceilings and floor of the lair.

My bodies were deeper in the place, as I had gotten lost when I died the first time. After a number of Olthoi workers had fallen, we neared the part of the lair that held my corpses and the mage spoke again for the first time since he expressed his hatred of Olthoi “The soldier class is ahead, I recognize their smell. The battle will become harder, but if you work with me it should still be of little difficulty.”

We turned yet another corner in the Olthoi maze and I heard the sounds of a human approaching from behind, uttering amazement at the destruction we had lefty in our wake. Another warrior no doubt, admiring the carnage we had wrought. It was then that I saw one of my corpses. Olthoi Soldiers had surrounded it, almost as if they knew some human would return for them to destroy again. I almost leapt into battle, but remembered that I was not to lead. The purple robed mage began to cast and the words of magic began to fill the chamber. It was then that I heard another voice, uttering the phrase that all warriors despise “Fheaz Zhapag.”

It was not a warrior behind us, but some fool mage had followed us down here and was attempting to drain life from the soldiers in front of us. His spells attracted their attention and I saw the shroud appear around one of them as they rushed towards the draining mage in an orange hooded robe. My companion whirled and noticed our tag along for the first time and shot a look his way I had seen on the face of many a warrior in this place. “Don’t run.” He shouted out at the mage behind us. “If you run I cannot help you.” He turned to me and sent a glance my way that seemed to say “Why are you standing there and not attacking?”

He then brought another shroud down around an Olthoi, then another as the three Soldiers approached the mage in the orange robe. A spell of protection appeared around the draining mage, who was now draining for his life. The soldiers were cutting gashes into his flesh and he was surviving only because of the life force he drained from the soldiers to replenish his waning health. I plunged into the back of one of the soldiers, but this was no easy prey. Almost as if sensing my presence the soldier turned as my hammer made contact and I merely ripped a plate off his back. Painful to him no doubt, but not the finishing blow I had hoped for. Acid began to wash over me, burning me through the robe, yet not as much as I would have expected.

As I battled I saw healing spells being cast on the drain mage, no doubt coming from my purple robed companion. The drain mage seemed on the edge of panic, casting his drain spells in a desperate voice as he drew less and less life force from the attacking soldiers. I was in less danger than I had first thought as the soldier’s acid was not consuming my flesh and the claw blows that he landed glanced off of my robe and turban without tearing through the fabric.

I felt a blast of air behind me and one of the Olthoi crumpled in on itself as the spell of war caught him from behind. It was then that I had landed enough blows to slow the soldier I was fighting and jubilantly landed the killing blow, the corpse of the soldier expired at my feat. My remembrance of death in this lair was a thing of the past now, this soldier signifying my first such kill. Having learned my lesson, I spent no time in amazement and turned to the last soldier. However, I was instantly pushed back against the wall as a blast of air that seemed to fill the whole tunnel smashed into the remaining soldier.

The shock wave seemed to push the back of the Olthoi into his chest and flattened him like the pancakes my mother used to make for me in Ispar. Green slush and yellow organs sprayed about the corridor. The remains of the Olthoi landed on the drain mage who fell beneath the weight of the flattened carcass. “Get it off me, ahhhhh get it off me!” screamed the mage. I pushed the sloppy mess from off top of the mage and laughed out loud at his current condition. Another spell of healing flowed from my friend and removed the gashes I could see in the mage's chest. Where there were once bleeding lacerations, now there was pink skin beneath the tattered remains of his orange robe.

“Jermaine!” said the mage in the robe, a stern and commanding voice emanating in that one word. “Yes master mage?” said the drainer as he stood and wiped the mush from his face. “You are not to be here, return to the surface and do not enter again until you are ready. I will speak with your teacher of this incident and you can rest assured that the punishment will be appropriate. Now go.” “Yes sir.” He looked dejectedly at the ground and then said the words “Shirov Thuguz” with a squeak and portalled out of the lair. “That one has much to learn. His teacher will be most displeased. Come, we are almost done.”

I went to my body and recovered my belongings. Pleased to see another nearby, I quickly checked around for more Soldiers and seeing none, moved to loot my other corpse. “Where is the other?” he asked “I do not know, a little further down... I was lost” I replied, with a voice of deference and newfound respect. “We will continue then. Be careful as it gets more difficult down below. Do not run, unless I indicate that we should. If you run I cannot help you.” He said as he turned and began walking deeper into the lair.

We passed through more corridors and the mage now always cast two shrouds on each soldier. I could easily dispatch them, when I landed a blow, but they were quicker and harder to hit. They also could hurt me, but never enough to penetrate the robe and the mage would heal me whenever I suffered. I do not remember how many soldiers we killed together, but the experience I gained from the kills was teaching me the ways of these soldiers. I knew that I would soon be able to fight them much like the staff warrior I had seen in this place. Then I saw my last and final body. My lord’s hammer still held in its hand. I rushed forth and grabbed it, the last of my possessions had been recovered and we were victorious.

“NO!” cried the man in the robe, but it was too late. A soldier approached me and swung a claw at me head. I ducked easily and saw a shroud descend on the soldier. I swung at it, but it jumped back with an unearthly speed. A gout of acid flew from its mouth and it was then that I noticed that it was a little larger than the soldiers we had fought before. The acid washed over my face and my bare hands. Pain exploded in my mind and I fell to my knees. Healing energies rushed into me again and then again as the Olthoi ravaged me. “It is a noble.” he yelled between spells. He cast a healing spell of such powers that it brought me to my feet in ecstasy. “Roiga Thiloi” said the mage and a purple glow filled the chamber. “You have your things, get out... now!”

Again the noble attacked as I turned. Its acid burning me and it’s claws ripping through the enchanted robe. The healing spell again restored me and I knew that I was a dead man four times over were it not for the power of these spells. I leapt into the summoned portal and landed on the sand of a beach. The sun beat down on my back and I knew I was in the Gharun’dim lands but knew not where I was. I moved out from under the landing spot of the portal, as I did not wish the master mage to land on me when he arrived.

The hammer in my hands grew heavy again as I waited and I knew it would no longer claim the lives of Olthoi as it once did. I stowed it in my pack and pulled out my magical hammer as I waited for the mage in the purple robe to appear. Never before had I seen such power and I reminded myself to be careful when I next faced Olthoi. They would not fall so easily as before and I would need to adjust my attacking style. I decided then that I would go slowly into the Lair of Death and keep careful track of the tunnels so as not to get lost again.

“I waited and waited, hours had passed and the mage had yet to materialized. I know not whether the noble or the mage had won the battle, as the noble’s speed and acid was frightening to behold. It occurred to me that a mage I had never met before placed his life at great risk so that I might recover a few things that were important to me. Somehow my armor and hammer have grown cheap in my eyes, next to the kindness and potential sacrifice of the man in the purple robe. I owe this man a great debt and I seek to find a way that I might repay him. I know not his name. So I tell you this tale in the hopes that you know of whom I speak. My only lead at this time is an apprentice mage known as Jermaine. Do you know him? I will pay for any information that you have.”

Hearing no answer from the crowded inn at Arwic, the man silently hefted his pack and headed towards the Tou-Tou portal. The words of beggars and hucksters ringing thickly in the air.